Be Careful Who You Trust

Every day I regretted reading that damned book. Ever since I read it, nothing had gone well for me. After I graduated from college and got my first professional job, I hated it; it was boring. So, one night, instead of going home and just eating and then sleeping for the next workday, my colleague asked me to hang out at their place.

Both of us, two working females, were sitting on the sofa when she asked if I wanted to read a book. Curious, I said, “What kind of book?”

She grabbed a book from the coffee table. From the outside, it had a black cover with no defined text. As I stared at it, something inside me felt uneasy.

“Here” -she showed it to me- “My sister found it in her new house. Honestly, it’s creepy, but we couldn’t help reading it.” I heard the excitement in her voice. Unsure of what to do or say, I slowly took the book from her and saw the words, Warning! DON’T READ! written on the cover. The text was in red, with pentagrams above and below the wording.

“Are you sure about this?” I asked.

My friend smiled and then said, “Yes, go on, nothing is going to happen. This is real life, not some horror movie.”

I sighed. “Fine,” I said as I opened the book. The first page of the book looked dirty, with ink smudges and filth etched on the once white paper. I started reading it, but the text was in another language, most likely Latin.

Once I finished trying to read the script, I saw the drawing of a demon at the bottom of the page. Suddenly, I heard a low growl in my ear, along with childish whispers. In shock and fear, I quickly closed the book. I jumped up and threw it on the table.

“I’m done!” I yelled and then stomped to the door. Even though I heard my colleague asking what happened, I didn’t care. I knew reading the book was a bad idea, but I trusted my friend, and that was a mistake. Once I left the apartment building, I quickly opened my car door and sat in the driver seat. I exhaled an anxious breath and tried to calm down. However, in the distance, I saw something watching me. I tilted my head a little, trying to view the figure. Whoever it was, looked like a person, but the form was all black. It stayed still, unwavering in its stare.

I blinked my eyes, and then, it was gone. My heart leaped in my throat, and I turned my head from side to side. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the shadow again. Even after I drove away— speeding in fear—I kept seeing the shadow. When I worked, went out with friends, and visited my family, the strange figure was always there. I regretted reading that damn book. Ever since I read it, nothing had gone well for me, and the shadow was always there—watching me in the distance.